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Target Practice
EDC Training Room A large room where EDC come to blow off steam, stay in shape, and improve their skills. The northern side of the room is set up so that Exo-Suits can spar, there's obvious scorch marks along the walls on that end. The south side of the roop has floor mats set up for hand to hand combat. To the east is some training equipment and punching bags. Surrounding the rings are stands for those who wait their turns or watch. Last, in the center of the room is a combat training drone that can adjust to the individual's needs. Jayson Redfield has been down here for awhile. No exo--just his own natural abilities. He currently has his goggles down over his eyes, and has set up a few targets which he's a good distance from, aiming carefully with his gun. He fires a shot, which misses the center of a target by approximately a quarter of an inch. He stares for a moment, then slowly lowers the gun and frowns a bit. So close... James Bailey walks in, a set of noise-dampening headgear over his ears. When Jayson stops shooting, he slips them off and leaves them around his neck instead. "Kid...I've seen your training records. You used to be able to bullseye four out every five." Jayson Redfield blinks and cocks his head as James speaks, lifting his goggles. "*Used* to...yeah. I don't have a clue what's happening--it doesn't feel like I can even shoot straight anymore." James Bailey frowns. "Well...I'm always more interested in how someone can perform in the field, under real world conditions. Not just crouching and shooting at a stationary target that's always in the same angle, same distance, everything." He looks at Jayson carefully. "You ready for something a little more realistic?" Jayson Redfield hesitates for a moment, musing over this. He then nods with no further reluctance and approaches James. "Yeah. What d'you have in mind?" James Bailey says, "Well, if I understand it right the EDC's got sort of an combat training setting for this training room. It can simulate different urban or jungle zones, opponents, even weather. Maybe we ought to give it a run through and see how well you do." Jayson Redfield tilts his head slightly. "Sounds fun." He holsters his gun and cracks his knuckles, smirking a little. "Let's get started, then. I'm bored." James Bailey goes over to the a door on the side of the room which leads to the EDC's 'urban combat training zone' - it's kind of like a big paintball course, about three blocks long by two blocks wide. You see splotches of paint all over the place, particularly on the edges of windows and on dumpsters or cars or anything else that could be used as cover. James walks in and looks around, then finds a small control which he picks up, quickly familiarizing himself with. "Okay...looks like you just need to move to the other end of this course." Jayson Redfield follows after James, running his fingers through his ponytail. "Other end...what's the catch? Hidden assassins, enemy forces...what?" He's half joking, possibly in an attempt to keep his spirits up. James Bailey steps off to the side and lets Jayson go ahead, the control held in both hands. "That would be telling, wouldn't it? All right, you ready? Safeties off? Go for it!" James inputs a few commands into the control box. Nothing seems to happen at first...looks like a perfectly quiet, deserted street. Jayson Redfield knows quite well that looks can be deceiving--in fact, the simulation reminds him a lot of New York City. "Just get to the end? Okay..." He warily steps foreward, furtively taking in his surroundings. Without warning, a sillhoette-type target of a soldier in a Protectorate uniform pops out from behind a car. The target is complete with a fake gun and a snarling, hateful expression. Jayson Redfield whips around and in a flash, his gun is drawn. He fires a shot at the target without missing a beat. "Had to be Protectorate," he murmurs, mostly to himself. "Glad I was still in school when those guys were around." The target is punctured a few times in the center of the torso. It's a good shot, nothing flashy buy enough to kill most enemies. James nods in approval. "Not bad...see, in a real fight, hitting dead center's not always as important - sometimes you just need to hit." Then he grins evilly. "But since that's obviously not gonna be a challenge for you, let's try and make things a little more complicated." Jayson Redfield just stares at James with a raised eyebrow. "You're looking a little mischievious there, James. I'll have to keep my eye on you." He slowly takes a few cautious steps backward, checking his surroundings closely. As Jayson passes an open window, there's a clatter as the shutters swing open, revealing another sillhouette behind it. This one is painted to look like a Protectorate sniper, but it's positioned so that only the head, sniper rifle and the shoulders are visible from behind the cover of the window. Without a second glance at the next target, Jayson fires off another shot, aiming for the head. "Hey, James!" he calls. "Does it always have to be Protectorate guys? Why can't I shoot 'Cons instead?" -Spack-! Jayson's shot impacts the window-sill just in front of the 'Protectorate sniper'. The targer drops down for a moment, simulating a target who ducks out of sight, then emerges again, unharmed. James shouts, "Keep your mind on what you're doing, kid! You've to take this seriously. If that was a real sniper, you might only have one shot!" He frowns at Jayson, not too happy that he's letting himself be distracted during this 'simple' excersize. Jayson Redfield shakes his head. "Sorry, sorry..." He jumps back, away from the sniper target, and fires off several more shots, most aimed at the head as before. This time the 'head' of the sniper cut-out is perforated nicely, almost torn free from the rest of the target. James walks a few feet after Jayson, although he's still pretty far behind the young(er) EDC trooper. "All right...this time I'm going to throw a little twist into it." Jayson Redfield glances over his shoulder at his comrade. "Yeah? What kinda twist?" James Bailey rolls his eyes. "I'm not gonna -tell- you...I'll -show- you. Once you start moving again. C'mon, you haven't even made it past the first block." Jayson Redfield snorts a bit, apparently in amusement. "Hey, I just want to know what to expect...and don't give me any 'expect the unexpected' stuff, okay?" He smirks and continues moving. This time a pair of targets pops up from around the corner of an alley, so close that they're almost merged into one target. But the reason becomes apparent - the targets are designed to portray a Protectorate gunman holding an EDC soldier in front of him as a living shield, with only a few parts exposed - a hand holding a gun here, an elbow there, a knee here. Jayson Redfield hesitates, frowning a bit as assesses the situation. This one's going to be a little tricky. He could try aiming for the hand with the gun, but if he misses, the shot could hit the hostage. After a few seconds, he makes his decision. He aims for part of the Protectorate's leg that happens to be exposed. He fires, trying to keep the shot on target but at the same time away from the captive soldier. Jayson's shot drills the target in the knee, exactly where it was aimed. In fact, it's dead center of the knee, what would be a perfect bullseye if this was the regular practice range. James nods in approval. "Nice...I think you're starting to get your eye back. Maybe all you needed was some incentive." Jayson Redfield grins. "Yeah, maybe. I just hope I never have to face that situation in the real world." He darts a few steps further down the simulated street, each of his senses alert for the next target. By now Jayson has made it to the first intersection, a few 'parked' cars at the corner, with James trailing a about 10 feet behind. But as soon as Jayson steps past the corner, there's suddenly movement from both directions To his left a target pops out from behind an open doorway, this time not a Protectorate soldier, but painted to look like one of Compton Xabat's nameless thugs. Down the street to his right there is what looks like an furry, bear-shaped alien, twice the height of a human with some kind of laser rifle held in one hand. Jayson Redfield bristles a bit. Even seeing one of Xabat's minions is enough to tick him off. He snarls quietly and fires off another shot, aimed for the dead center of the thug's chest. That done, he whips around to face the bearlike alien creature, silently realizing that he has to reload. He backs up, hastily pulling a spare pack of bullets out of his pocket and accessing the chamber of his gun, into which he inserts them. He cocks the weapon and fires at the beast's head. The Compton's-Thug target is hit, but a little off-center. Again, enough to have killed a real target. The alien beast target is drilled dead center, it's head almost not moving at all as the shot passes perfectly through. James frowns. "You know, kid...I'm seeing a pattern here. Whenever you get emotional - if you're mad or even too excited - your aim suffers." He points at the off-center shot on the Compton-Thug, and the dead center shot on the beast. Jayson Redfield is quiet for a short time. Finally, he sighs and shakes his head. "Maybe you're right...but I can't help it. The sight of that target just...*really* pissed me off." James Bailey frowns. "But that's part of the problem. You can't pick the enemies you're going to come up against when you're out there. And if the -sight- of them affects you this much...it could really cost you out there." He shakes his head. "And that goes for everything - when you're in your Exo, in a Shrike, a tank, or just manning the base defenses, whatever. I'm not saying don't hate your enemies or don't feel anything. I'm just saying don't let it get in the way of your training, and of your concentration." Jayson Redfield holsters his gun again and gives another sigh, folding his arms. "Yeah, I know...but I'm not sure how to handle it. Any advice you can give me?" James Bailey rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Well...about all I can say is to keep practicing with real-world situations like this. The more you do it, and the closer you can get to facing the enemies that cause this kind of reaction, the better your chances of overcoming it." He shrugs and smirks. "Failing that, there's always the mental disciplines. Yoga, Zen, Meditation, that sort of thing." Jayson Redfield rolls his eyes. "Yeah, right. I'm not one for sitting still and meditating." He cracks his knuckles. "Well, besides that, how'd I do?" James Bailey says, "Well...your aim's good, but then that wasn't the problem. You've got the potential to be a crack shot, in any situation. It's just...I don't know, you get affected by things. You lose your concentration." He shrugs. "But aside from that, you handled the course pretty well. Hit all the targets, even the one with the 'shield'. Only the sniper one would have had a chance to get a shot off." James Bailey says, "So I'd say just keep practicing, and try to do something - anything - to keep your focus and concentration when something happens to push your buttons." Jayson Redfield nods. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the help."